


Game

by Skylark, Swiftling (Skylark)



Series: SASO 2015 [14]
Category: Eyeshield 21, Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Casinos, Crossover, Fortune Telling, Gambling, Gen, Tarot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-09
Updated: 2016-01-09
Packaged: 2018-05-12 20:09:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5679079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Skylark, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Swiftling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"The next card you're going to pull is a three of hearts," the woman says.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Game

**Author's Note:**

  * For [inelegantly (Lir)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lir/gifts).



> [Original prompt](https://sportsanime.dreamwidth.org/7182.html?thread=2547214#cmt2547214).

"The next card you're going to pull is a three of hearts," the woman says.  
  
She's pulled herself comfortably forward on her seat, both her elbows and her sizeable breasts resting on the table. Hiruma is unimpressed.  
  
"If you're card counting, you're doing a shitty job of hiding it," he tells her.  
  
"I don't need to count." She smiles at him, a slow and impish thing. "I have an affinity with cards, you see. They talk to me."  
  
Hiruma rolls his eyes. "You're not the first shitty psychic I've had at my table." He fingers the small red button on the underside of his casino table, but doesn't push it. He never pushes it. He can cheat better than any player he's ever met.  
  
"Hit me," she says.  
  
He pulls the next card from the deck with a smooth, practiced flick of his long fingers, flicks it towards her so it whirls like a top before stopping in front of the rest of her hand.  
  
Two of hearts.  
  
"Be careful with that next card," she says, tucking her card into place beside the two cards already in her hand. "It's not what you think."  
  
Hiruma grins at her, all teeth, and draws.  
  
His eyes widen when the card lands face-up. Staring up at him from the table is a hollow-eyed skeleton on a white horse, carrying a banner emblazoned with a white rose. Children and women beg for mercy at his feet. _DEATH,_ the card proclaims.  
  
In the next instant his face has collapsed back into a glare. He meets her gaze and finds her smiling, serene.  
  
"What do you want," he growls, quietly so the microphones won't catch it. "Who sent you." His hand reaches below the table again, but this time for a gun. His mind starts racing for potential accomplices, exits, defensible positions.  
  
"I'm not threatening you," the woman says. She hasn't moved, and her relaxed self-satisfaction grates on Hiruma's nerves. "Quite the opposite, actually. I was just showing you what you are."  
  
He can't see anyone else watching the table, but that doesn't mean she doesn't have backup. "You're shitty at flirting," he snaps, "in case nobody ever told you that before. Besides, I'm not interested."  
  
"You know what the Death card _really_ symbolizes, don't you?" she asks, still calm. "It means the end of a cycle. It's a crucible of trials to purify the will. Spiritual rebirth."  
  
Hiruma snorts.  
  
The woman raises an eyebrow. "I told you every card before you drew it, didn't I? In my hand is the queen of hearts, the three of hearts, and the six of hearts. And you," she gestures across the table, "have the two of spades, jack of spades, and Death. I was doing a reading for you."  
  
She reaches out and taps the cards in his hand. "You drew the swords arcana because you're driven by intellect and ambition. The two of spades is a stalemate—you've ended up trapped, paying off your debt to the family by working here, and can't easily find a way out. The jack of spades is what you think you are. Endless possibility, a man led by his own logic. But death," she presses the pad of her index finger to the grinning skull, "that's what you really are." Her voice softens. "I've been looking for a partner like you."  
  
Hiruma settles back, his fingers loosening on the grip of his gun without releasing it. "I'll give you credit," he says. "You put on a good show."  
  
Her right cheek dimples when she smiles and means it, he notes. "You don't have to come with me," she says, "but I've taken care of your debt with the casino higher-ups. They were... _difficult_ to negotiate with, but I can be very convincing." Her smile is wider this time, and the dimple disappears.  
  
"You're lying," Hiruma says flatly.  
  
She pouts. "Have I lied to you yet?"  
  
"That doesn't mean shit."  
  
"I'd have no use for a partner with someone on his tail," she points out. "Then they'd be after me, too."  
  
"You can't just—"  
  
"I don't expect you to believe me, anyway," the woman interrupts him. "So I'm going to leave now. If you'd like to join me, I'll be waiting for you outside in my car."  
  
She slips off the stool and swings her purse over her shoulder. She's got an amazing body, and she knows how to use it to her advantage. Hiruma admires her for that, the way he'd admire anyone who's honed every aspect of themselves into something that can be used towards their gain. Takes one to know one, after all.  
  
"What about the cards you drew for yourself?" Hiruma calls after her.  
  
To his surprise, her cheeks tinge pink. "You can count cards too, can't you?" is all she says before she leaves.  
  
\--  
  
Hiruma stays through the rest of his shift, just to be contrary. After he finishes his last game of the night, he glances at the back halls that he'd normally take back to the small room he stays in.  
  
He doesn't go that way. Instead, he walks off the casino floor, through the marble atrium and the grand front doors. He walks slowly, so that anyone could stop him if they wished. No one does.  
  
Outside, the first rays of sunlight make him squint. It's been a while since he's been allowed outside like this, instead of trapped in the glittering walls of the casino. When his vision clears he sees a sleek black Cadillac purring by the curb.  
  
"I liked that job, you know," Hiruma says as he slides into the passenger's seat beside her.  
  
The woman smiles and doesn't bother calling him on the lie. "You'll like this one even more," she says, handing him her business card as the casino fades into the distance behind them. It's sleek and discreet, the stamp of Interpol's insignia embossed behind the plain print of her name. _Nozomi Tojo._ "I look forward to working with you."

**Author's Note:**

> And then Nozomi and Hiruma become the most-badass, least-straight secret agents the world has ever seen, and wingman for each other at bars. The end. You can puzzle out Nozomi's reading for herself [here](https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-cups/).


End file.
